Observations focused on the problems of an underdeveloped country, Venezuela, with some serendipity about the world (orchids, techs, science, investments, politics) at large. A famous Venezuelan, Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, referred to oil as the devil's excrement. For countries, easy wealth appears indeed to be the sure path to failure. Venezuela might be a clear example of that.

Move along, folks. Nothing to see here. Gasoline in my neighborhood (Houston TX) is normally about $3.30 these days, but we can get it for under $3 with a car wash. In the overall scale of weirdness (1-10), this is barely a 1.

Yes, I have now heard of at least four instances like this, free tank of gas with car wash or oil change. It is not that much, at most 0.5 dollars atthe black market rate, one dollar atthe official one.

Rubbish, the first guy Marzolian is talking about a 30 cents per gallon decrease so you’re looking at a 5 to 10 dollar discount on a full tank of gas. In Venezuela a tank never gets over 2 dollars anyway and Wanley’s comment is questioning whether you get a free tank in Texas, not Venezuela.

Venezuela is great for traveling by car exept ofcourse for US Mim. 4 weel drive like on the US roadmap to get de Venezualian oil and minarals like we see in Libya and Syria, Venezuela dasn(t to increase oilprices because they don’t make wars abroad !

Exfiltrator,
Stuped moranic comments from people that cannot spell and don’t open their eyes have little to contribute here. Chavez is supporting and encouraging wars across the planet. Wake up. Venezuela has more murders than most countries at war and Chavez thinks it is ok.

It’s not “yours and CIA propaganda”, we are the same. We are CIA agents. My name is Bourne, Jason Bourne. Ronaldo’s nom de guerre is Paz.

We were both trained for the Treadstone program.

We are worried because of your leader, Chávez,
is spending billions dollars (over 9 billion now)
to prepare Veneezuela for the asymmetric war…like the
100 Russian T-72B1V or the amphibious vehicles from Chinese for 500 million just bought nowhttp://lenta.ru/news/2012/07/04/buychinese/
or the different MI helicoptershttp://lenta.ru/news/2012/06/09/credits/
(almost a dozen of which have gone down
because one of our agents threw iguanas against the rotors)

The US forces are totally powerless against such asymmetric weapons
as planes and tanks and amphibious vehicles…
you are really really clever.

Kepler,
That is so cool.
All Venezuelan aircraft can be neutralized with a paint gun. Venezuelan forces will follow their leader and hide under their desks rather than take any chances of not looking good in a red beret.
Paz

Exfiltrator, do you live in USA or Germany? the quality of life in Venezuela is very low and Venezuelans do not know this. Yes there are poor people in USA or other developed country, they are natural disaster and the economy is not has good as everybody is expected…but you do not have to worry about light or water services going out for not reason. The problem I have in supermarkets is too many choices of cereals, toilet paper,milk and everything else. However you know what is the best the low crime rate…the fact that as a woman I can walk home past 8:00 pm and feel safe is the best feeling of the world…so do not blame the capitalism…the problem in Venezuela is that corruption is ingrated in our genes and the “viveza criolla” and the bull shit of “we are a rich country” is killing the country…in the IV and in the V…
Venezuelans are guilty of want happen in Venezuela so stop blaming others!
BTW…I do not live in el Doral or any other place in USA full of Venezuelans and I lived in Libertador when I lived in Venezuela…so I never was a sifrina

Ira, that’s a word that doesn’t have an exact translation in English.It might mean a spoiled and snooty girl, but it is used against most middle or upper class and who have a certain East -Caracas accent.

There are people on this blog who have called me a sifrina because I lived in Caurimare.Just imagine.I am a bohemian type, who often went to CADA in alpargatas, and feel quite comfortable with relative poverty because I can turn any home into something beautiful, I don’t need much money for that.I love simple people, and an authentic life style.

Personally I think the term is just a catch all to denigrate others, and make the accuser feel good about his or herself.

Firepigette, I did not mean to be offensive. Sorry if I offended in any way. My point was that you can disagree with the Patria, socialismo bull shit and know what quality of living is even if you grow up at few kilometers of Caracas’ downtown area.

I suppose it is always a matter of opinion, but at least they have milk in the supermarkets… every day… every kind… several brands.

Again, a matter of opinion, but they have electrical power that is so dependable, that if it does go out, it is only because of a major storm or disaster, and they consider it major news, not an every day occurrence.

Again, a matter of opinion, but they have a currency that doesn’t have one of the highest inflation rates in the world.

Again, a matter of opinion, but they have a homicide rate an eighth of Venezuela’s.

I just returned from a trip to Florida & the comparisons between our life here in Venezuela & there are so huge that to try & say that there is a comparison between the two would indicate that the person making the comment has not been to one or the other.

Massive choices of products there – here shortages of everything.
I haven’t seen 100% orange juice in Margarita in months – there you have choices of dozens of brands & textures, ha, ha.

Why does Corpolec need to turn off the electricity to do normal maintenance? Doesn’t happen there.

Was able to sit at outdoor bars at night & watch the people strolling along the boulevard. Doesn’t happen here.

Why are prices here higher than there even at black market rates when minimum wages here are US$1.17 per hour while US minimum rates average around US$8 per hour? eg. Why does a locally produced package of bacon cost $9.92 a lb. in Sigo when it’s only US$6 in Miami?

I could keep going on but the point is that the USA, today, is so far advanced over Venezuela that there is not a comparison to make. It’s like comparing a brand new Cadillac with a 1950s Volkswagen Bug.

Well, let me give you an example: an iMac that costs 1300 dollars in the US is being sold at 5500 dollars in socialist Venezuela. Meaning that with the same money you can afford one in Hugoslavia you can buy 4 in the US.

Oh and no, wages aren’t even comparable. In the US they are miles better.

Make sure trolls like that exfiltrator do no get airtime here as their intentions are only to seed chaos. Do you really think he/she is here to learn or debate reasonably? Just take a look at Noticiero Digital and you’ll see what I mean. C’mon people, let’s keep the devil professional. And yes! I still have no idea what exfiltrator tried to say. For that to happen people need enough oxygen at birth.

I agree with Alex.I wish blog owners would ban the trolls.Caracas Chronicles has lately turned into a useless sea of trolls with their corresponding groupies.Maybe it’s troll season but do we have to converse with them?

I’m not going to say I come to the devil’s site every day. I’d say at least once/week but more commonly twice. I admit I never gave it a thought how professional it is because as far as I can remember, I haven’t seen trolls here, especially the one above with such quality grammar. Probably is the poised, dignified way Mr. Octavio writes that invites respect . That being said, I’m concerned, only a bit but still concerned.

I agree with Alex. I don’t think that trolls have a right to disrupt a blog at will.

I don’t condone censorship, but any group of people have a right to choose who they associate with in private. If I were to crash a meeting of a pro-choice political group on private property and disrupt their meeting by yelling at them and calling them “baby-killers”, they would be within their rights to have me ejected.

Is a blog private property? I would say yes, in that, while it is open to the public, it is moderated by its owner. It is not public in the sense that a public plaza is public. It is public in the sense that a supermarket is public. Yes, it is open to the public, but it is private property, and they reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.

Does that mean you should exclude anyone who disagrees with you? Of course not. That would make for a pretty dull debate. But, you do have a right to ensure the quality of discourse is up to your standards.

Am I the only one who thinks the Reply mechanism here is atrocious? Each reply gets smaller and smaller font until it’s rendered unreadable. It’s made me visit the comment section less often because I don’t want to strain my eyes.

Wow. You remind me of the typical Venezuelan attitude that instead of solving the problem, tells you to live with it and work around the issue. The point is: I shouldn’t have to zoom in and out screwing with my browser configuration. There are tons of other blogs and forums where that BS is not required to read information effectively, why should I have to in this instance?

don’t ban any comments. if “troll” start to look at this site and even more, if htey start commenting, LET’s turm them to our side, let’s HELP them open their eyes! they are and will be our best allies!

Please keep the replies and
the alternative thinkers…
especially the mislabeled tee ar oh el els.
They disapeared back in the bbs days.
Anyone smart to be one,
has turned to bullying.
What we are reading
are from posters worried
about the status quo,
and wildly lashing out,
for lack of direction.
cheers

Thank you for that. I think it’s important to define the term. Because lately, I’ve been wondering if trolls don’t apply to the non-confrontational who repeatedly squeeze in their rose-dusted views, through cracks in the discussions. Uno se cansa.

Have you considered what Daniel does — Issuing a caveat on first view, after hitting the “Reply” link? Here’s his version, as a reminder:

To have your comments stay published follow these rules:
1) Do not be repetitive: The worth of a discussion is not based on the number of comments but in their value!
2) Do not bring grudges and fights from other blogs here.
3) Trolls will simply be erased. Clever and appropriate put downs may be occasionally accepted.
4) This is an anti Chavez blog, with mostly anti Chavez readers that have made up their minds over twelve years. Trying to convince us of our errors will likely be considered as a mere troll.

Comparison between USA and Venezuela? Waste of time.. You cannot walk any street of any state of venezuela without the feeling of a gun ready to take you down and steal all your stuff, even your life..

I’ve been to Margarita twice, and one time, we went to a fort where there are always children around to recite some kind of poem about the history of the place. (They’re basically working the tourists for tips.)

Do you know where I’m talking about, or am I confusing this with a trip to the DR? My wife’s working now and not here for me to ask.

Snacks in Xi’an are plentiful, want to know and try out them, welcome to Xi’an, here, you will eat delicious food as well as
visit famous sites. They include chocolate chip, fruit,
or nut pancakes. Applesauce is a great no-fat low-sugar alternative panckae topping.